


Don't Think We've Had Enough

by ellatrobbie



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: AU, Caleb homecoming fic, F/M, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-09-09
Packaged: 2018-02-03 06:49:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1735145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellatrobbie/pseuds/ellatrobbie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A text message came out of nowhere in the middle of the night, telling him that Hanna was in hospital. And he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t left Ravenswood before the sun came up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. don't think we've had enough

**Author's Note:**

> I started drafting this before any info about season 5 really came out, but by now it's sort of an AU about how Caleb could have come back to Rosewood. Hope you all enjoy it :)
> 
> I always make playlists when I write, but I really liked the songs that inspired me throughout this story so I actually put my mix up on 8tracks! If you are interested you can find it here: 8tracks.com/ellatrobbie/don-t-think-we-ve-had-enough

He held his breath the entire time he was in the elevator, gripping the strap of his backpack tightly. He stared at his shoes; counting how many times his laces crossed in some vain hope it would calm him down.

The elevator dinged before doors slid open and he lifted his head automatically. He walked out looking for a sign that would point him in the right direction. Room 511. He’d memorised it from the text message on his phone. The text message that came out of nowhere in the middle of the night, telling him that Hanna was in hospital. And he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t left Ravenswood before the sun came up.

Once he found the right corridor he walked slowly, watching his feet take each step, because it was the only thing he could do to stop himself from running. Man, did he want to run. He needed to see her, to see that she was alright. So that he could breathe normally again.

Finally he reached the right room, and peered through the glass panel by the door. She’s in the bed, but her head is turned away from him. It looked like she was alone; the girls were probably at school by now. She didn’t even stir when he opened the door stepped inside and as he moved around the bed he realised she was asleep.  He felt a wave of relief rush over him for a second. She was okay, she was alive. And at least for now he could see that without having to see her star back at him asking him why he was even there.

But then he saw the scratches and bruises on her face and the cast on her arm. And the anxious frown settled onto her face even while she was sleeping. The relief quickly turned into a heavy knot at the pit of his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to touch her, but he didn’t want to risk waking her up. He settled for staring at her, trying to tell himself that this wasn’t his fault; that this didn’t happen because he left.

 “Caleb.” A voice said and his head shot up. It was Ashley, holding a cup of coffee from the machine, looking worried and tired. Obviously, she’d been here all night.

“Hey,” he nodded at her, wishing he could hide from her gaze. He always thought about how he let Hanna down, it wasn’t until now that he realised Ashley had been counting on him as well. “How is she?”

Ashley pressed her lips together tightly, glancing down at Hanna before looking at him and forcing a tight smile. “She’s going to be fine, just time needs to heal. The doctors wanted to keep her for a couple days to make sure her head is okay. She’s on a lot of painkillers though. You could bring a marching band in here and she wouldn’t wake up.” Her smile relaxed a bit, “To be honest, that’s what she’s normally like when she’s sleeping.”

“Yeah, I remember,” he smiled for a moment, allowing himself the fond memory. “Do you know what happened to her?”

Ashley hesitated for a moment, Caleb wasn’t whether she didn’t want to tell him or she didn’t know what to say. She moved a couple steps towards Hanna, and pulled at the blanket covering her gently. “Apparently she fell down a steep bank in the woods.”

“Fell?”

Ashley shook her head a little as though she was as disbelieving as he was. “The girls seem certain that someone pushed her, but the police couldn’t find anything. They said they’d go back in the daylight. From the looks of it she just slipped on some wet leaves.”

Caleb dropped his gaze to Hanna again. He remembered her putting up that tent the first night they were together, remembered her taking charge of the firewood and making sure they didn’t get lost. For all her heels and manicures, Hanna knew her way around the woods. There was no way she slipped. He had no proof though, because he wasn’t there. He hadn’t been there to protect her. The knot in his stomach grew and he swallowed before he could say anything else.

“Why did you send me that message?” he asked suddenly, looking up at Ashley and catching her mid-sip. Her eyes widened for a second, but she just offered him a smile. And this one didn’t seem that forced.

“Whatever happened between you and Hanna, I still don’t know the details... But if she knew you were hurt she would jump through hoops to go see you. I just had a feeling you would feel the same way.”

Caleb nodded, “Thank you.” There were more words, more explanations he wanted to say, but they all got stuck in his throat.  

 “Are you going to stay in Rosewood?” Ashley asked, before taking another long sip of coffee.

He shrugged, “I think so.  I don’t know if she’d even want me to stay.”

“That’s not true, Caleb and you know it. After she went to visit you in Ravenswood, she seemed... less angry. And less sad... Like she understood why you had to leave even if she couldn’t tell anyone.”

“It was easier to show her than to explain it,” he said.

Ashley looked like she wanted to ask him about it, but thankfully she didn’t say anything else. Instead they just stand in silence while Hanna lay between them, the most important person in both their lives.

Caleb exhaled loudly, “I should probably go – I’ve got some stuff to get sorted now that I’m back in town. Could you let me know how she’s doing?” he asked.

“Of course,” Ashley said, finally moving to sit down in the chair next to Hanna’s bed.

He took a step back from the bed before he stopped, “I actually brought something -” he started , swinging his backpack around to pull out the small stuffed bear he’d bought. In one paw it held a small ‘Get Well’ balloon and in the other a small card. He bought it at the hospital gift shop, after staring at the flowers for the better part of ten minutes.

“I’ll make sure she gets it.” Ashley nodded, smiling as she sees it.

“Thanks, again. Really.” he said, and turned to sit the bear on the table next to the bed. Hanna hasn’t moved the entire time he’s been there, but she’s snuffled in her sleep a few times which he could remember her doing.. He reached his hand out, hoping to touch her but at the last minute he moved until his fingers landed on her cast. No one had signed it yet, probably because the plaster was still drying but he could imagine her being quick to cover it with doodles and messages. He let himself imagine for a moment what he would have written on it. He could imagine her being awake and complaining about the hospital food and her hair being flat and stubboring claiming that she wasn’t in pain and wanting to watch all the daytime cooking shows.

He knew he had to get out of there while he was still able to make himself leave.

 

* * *

 

The brightness hit her first, she could feel that. And she could feel... well fuzzy. She tried her eyes, hoping the picture would be clearer. Almost immediately he eyes focussed on familiar red hair, only a couple of feet away. “M - Mom?” Her voice is a little husky.

Her mother lifted her head straight away, “Hey sweetie. How are you feeling?”

She pouted, or at least tried to, she wasn’t sure her body was actually doing what she wanted it too. “Like crap. And sort of numb.”

Her mom chuckled a little, and picked up a cup of water off the bedside table, “That’s hospital strength painkillers for you. Here, have some.”

Hanna began to lift her right arm before she remembered it was all plastered up and sighed. Her mom held the cup and straw in front of her and Hanna leaned forward to take a sip on the water.

“The doctors say you should probably be able to go home in the next couple of days. They just want to do a couple more tests,” her mom said while she drank. She took her time, sucking through the straw slowly, closing her eyes momentarily against the harsh light. Or maybe against the look of the hospital room. Because for some reason she suddenly remembered the last time she had been in one of these, and it wasn’t for her.

She felt a tiny bit clearer already, and eventually nodded to her mom that she was done. Her eyes followed the cup of water back to the bedside table until she saw a small stuffed bear sitting there. She didn’t remember it being there when she was awake for a bit around breakfast time.She knows the sunflowers in the corner were from her father and the pink roses were from Travis and the card next to them was from the girls with the promise of cookies when she got out of the hospital. But the bear was new and mysterious. And right now, new and mysterious was never a good thing.

“Who is that from?” she asked, eyeing it suspiciously. She couldn’t stretch enough to reach it herself. Her mom didn’t say anything, which was weird, just handed it to her.

There was a little balloon on a stick attached to one of the paws, but it just said “Get Well”. On the other paw there was a small card with a smiley face on the front. Hanna managed to open it with her thumb.

 _“Get better soon. And be safe please.  ~~love~~ -C”_ It wasn’t the initial she was expecting to read and she inhaled sharply when she saw the note written in his usual scrawl. ‘ _Please_ ’ was underlined twice and the ' _love'_ was scribbled over hastily

“Mom, do you know who this is from?” she asked quietly, her heart feeling quite heavy. She wasn’t sure whether it was the medication or whether she was trying hard to keep her hopes down. What hopes? She wasn’t even sure what this meant.

Her mom nodded, “He came to see you, this morning. You were asleep.”

“And then he left,” Hanna continued for her.

“I have a feeling he’s going to be staying in Rosewood for a while,” her mom said and only then did Hanna realise how tightly she was squeezing the bear.

 

* * *

 

He forgot Emily worked at the brew until he stepped up to the counter and she turned around to serve the next customer. Which was him.

“Caleb?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“Heeey,” he offered her a tight smile. Ashley was one thing, but she wasn’t sure Hanna’s friends were going to be so forgiving. Not after the way he left last time.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, staring him down like maybe she’d be able to scare him off. Honestly, it was kind of working.

“I am... I am coming back to Rosewood,” he said finally, “I think I needed to come back.”

Emily stare softened, and she looked down at her hands gripping at her apron, “A lot of things have changed since you left, Caleb,” she said quietly. He could tell by the way she said it that he wouldn’t have to wait long to figure out what she actually meant.

“I can only imagine,” he replied, before looking at her pointedly, “I’m not trying to push myself back into anything.”

Emily nodded slowly, as if she accepted that he didn’t mean any harm. Or rather, any more harm. Behind him some business man coughed loudly and that pulled both of them back to their current surroundings.

“Uh, I’ll get a large coffee please, to go,” he smiled at her. His next task was to find somewhere to live since he’d given up his last apartment.

“Coming right up,” she smiled back and he felt the warmth reach him and loosen the knot in his stomach a little. If Hanna’s friends are okay with him being back, maybe she would be too.

 

* * *

 

She was in the middle of her third Martha Stewart episode on the food network, when a knock pulls her out of her triple layer lemon cake daydream. Turning her head, she found Caleb at the doorway of her hospital room.

“Hi,” He smiled. His gaze was locked onto her, but it was warm, and comfortable. Like he’d never left.

She forced that particular thought out of her mind and smiled back at him, “Caleb, hi.”

He held up a paper takeout bag for her to see, before he stepped into the room slowly, “I brought dim sum and walnut shrimp. Thought you might be a bit sick of hospital food.”

As he spoke she lifted her unhurt arm to smooth down her hair, and almost missed what he was saying completely. “I am! Thank you. You didn’t really didn’t have to.”

The awkwardness between them was almost suffocating, but then he gave her a look, _the_ look and for a split second she definitely couldn’t breathe. She swallowed, forced a smile that she knew he could see through and pointed to the chair next to her bed. He put the takeout bag on the tiny portable table and rolled it next to her so it was within reach before sitting down.

“How long are you in Rosewood for?” She asked, suddenly needing the answer before she could say anything else.

He looked at his feet for a minute before looking back at her. His face looked worried, nervous before he spoke. “I don’t think I’ll be leaving anytime soon.”

She bit her lip, “You’re done with Ravenswood?” She willed herself not to be excited, not to get her hopes up. For her own sake, she told herself. But listening to herself was never her thing.

He nodded.

“What about Miranda?” she asked, remembering that there was more to the story than just Caleb.

He paused, obviously trying to choose the right words. She watched him, thinking for a moment he’d just try to make something up. It was a passing thought, and she knew straight away he would tell her the truth. However much of it he could.

“She’s gone too. I think we’re both done with Ravenswood for good,” he said finally. It was vague and they both knew it. She wanted to press him for more details, but decided that right now she really didn’t care. All that mattered is that he was sitting in front of her.

“Well, I’m glad you’re safe. I know thing got kind of dangerous there and – what?!” She asked as she caught him gazing at her with an amused smirk on his face.

“What?” he pretended he didn’t know what she was talking about but she could tell he knew.

“You’re giving me that look again,” she said staring at him pointedly, raising her good hand and pointing to his face.

His smirk widened into a grin for a second before he tried to hold it back. “Hanna, you’re talking about danger when you’re the one in the hospital.”

“At least my enemies are human, okay,” she snapped at him, before sighing, “Besides, Caleb, you weren’t even here. It’s not your problem.”

The smile disappeared off his face straight away and she could feel the mood in the whole room drop. “Maybe that is the problem.”

She shook her head, “No, it’s not your job to protect me. We’re not together anymore.”

That definitely made the temperature drop. They both dropped their heads for a while, she could only stare at her hands and bite her lip. She didn’t realise how heavy those words were until they left her mouth. They weren’t together anymore, and that was the first time they’d admitted it to each other. It felt like the most unnatural thing in the world.

“Hanna,” he let her name slip over his tongue slowly, looking up from the ground, “That’s never going to stop me from wanting to keep you safe.” His eyes had turned dark, almost desperate. She had only seen them a few times before and those were the saddest moments of her life.

“Look,” she started, desperate herself to change topics before she said something she couldn’t take back. “I’ll be fine and then things can go back to normal.”

“What is normal like these days?” he asked, genuinely curious.

Hanna thought back to everything that had happened over the last couple of months, all of the things she hadn’t told him. All of the reality that was outside this hospital room, outside of this moment with her and Caleb.

“It’s complicated-” she started, before catching what she had just said. He looked surprised as well and they both shared a knowing smile before she started again, “It’s a really long story. I promise I’ll try and explain when I get out of this room.”

It wasn’t until after she’d said it that she realised it came with the promise that they’d see each other again. He had definitely noticed as well.

“Okay,” he nodded.

He glanced at the wall clock across the room and nodded to himself. “I should go, your mom said she’d be coming back soon and you should eat this before it gets cold.” He pushed the table so that it fit over her lap.

She opened her mouth to ask how he knew when her mom was getting back, but then she paused to wonder how he even knew she was in the hospital in the first place. The pieces fit together in her mind and she smiled. Her mom always knew how to put her back together.

“Caleb?” she said. He’d already gotten up and turned to move towards door.

“Yeah?” he turned around, gazing down at her.

“Knowing you’re back in Rosewood, that make me feel a lot safer.”

She looked up at her him and their eyes locked. He was giving her that look, the one she couldn’t even describe, but could only feel. And it felt good. It felt right. He smiled and leaned down to press his lips against her forehead gently. She closed her eyes against his touch and by the time she opened them again he was gone.

But the warmth of his lips, the comfort of his gaze, the feeling in her gut. She could tell it was real this time.


	2. if you know me like i know you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so a) sorry this took so long to update!! Life got away from me, and so did this story. It was supposed to be something of a two-parter but it keeps growing in my mind. b) this is officially an AU now I guess. Obviously this doesn’t follow Caleb’s actual return to the show. I am getting some inspiration from the recent episodes though!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter. Stay tuned for the next one (hopefully sooner than this one!) :)

 She saw him sitting at the back, by the stairs. She’d just walked into the Brew, and scanned the place before she’d even ordered anything. He was doing something on his laptop, and doing that thing with his lip that he always did when he was trying to concentrate. If it wasn’t for his shorter hair it would look like nothing had changed. She felt a pang in her gut, knowing exactly how much had changed since he left.

She liked the hair. She didn’t say anything when he came to the hospital, because everything was felt surreal at the time, but it looked good on him. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss his longer hair though, because she definitely made good use of it when they were together. But she wasn’t about to let that slip. To anyone.

She turned to the counter to order a coffee and then moved towards the back of the cafe. She held tightly onto her bag. She couldn’t afford to let anything happen to it, not tonight. He was still preoccupied with whatever he’s doing on his laptop, so he didn’t even see her coming.

“I can only stay for a bit. I promised my mom I’d have dinner with her and Ted,” she said, the words coming out way too fast. She had a feeling her mouth wasn’t going to listening to her head much tonight.

“Hey -” he started before he even looked at her. But he stopped when he finally lifted his gaze to her.

“What?” She asked, slightly weirded out by the way he was staring at her. She dropped herself into the chair opposite him and stared back.

He shook his head, blinking a couple times. “You, uh, you just look different. You changed your style.”

“I do that a lot, Caleb,” she sighed, “In ninth grade I wore these weird hippie skirts.”

Truth is, she did change her style. But she was so tired of explaining it to everyone who saw her. Why couldn’t people let her wear what she wanted without making it a big deal?

He opened his mouth, but seemed to decide against saying anything so she just looks at him pointedly. “Besides, I’m not the only one who got a haircut.”

His lips curled into a quick smile. “Okay, let’s call it even in the change department.” He was looking at her more fondly now and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“Deal. What are you even doing?” She asked, eyeing his laptop.

Caleb groaned, “Studying. Hackett says I can come back to Rosewood High, but he wants me to take some make up work to prove that I actually went to school in Ravenswood.”

“Lame.”

“Tell me about it,” he says, making a face before he smiles at her, “Thanks for calling though, I could use the break.”

She wasn’t sure what to say to that, but she was saved by the waitress bringing her coffee to the table. She smiled in thanks and took the opportunity to take a breath and remember why she called him in the first place.

“How ‘bout you tell me what happened in Ravenswood? Are you really done with that place?”

Caleb sighed, taking a gulp of his own coffee. “I’m still kind of not sure what happened in Ravenswood,” he quirked his lips and tried to sound light. But she could tell that whatever happened had been serious. “I’m not planning to go back there any time soon.”

 “And what about Miranda?” She hadn’t planned to ask about Miranda so soon, but her mouth had already decided it was running the show tonight.

“Miranda’s gone too. Sort of.”

“So she’s still dead?”

“I know it sounds crazy,” Caleb nodded, “Believe me, that’s not even the craziest part.”

She took a sip of her coffee, letting the hot liquid coat her throat. She hoped it would make everything else easier to swallow. She looked up at him, “Tell me.”

“Hanna -”

She just looked at him pointedly, and waited. She wanted answers and she was planning to get them. He should know that feeling. He sighed again, and nodded slightly, “To stop the pact... the curse, we had to work with some other spirits that were trapped in Ravenswood like Miranda. One of them was called Caleb Rivers. He looked - looks like me too. Exactly like me actually.”

“You have a ghost?” Hanna frowned.

“Yeah,” Caleb said, exhaling slowly like he didn’t want to continue. “That Caleb was in love with some old version of Miranda and when he and Miranda met they hit it off.”

Hanna inhaled so sharply, glad she hadn’t drunk any more of her coffee because it made me choke a little. “So Miranda and this Caleb guy are together? Can ghosts even date?”

“I guess,” he shrugged. She had to admit, he looked uncomfortable with the idea and it helped her get her head around the whole thing.

“Does that make you like soul mates or something?”

He paused, but looked at her with that expression on his face. The one that he had at the hospital.

“Look, maybe Miranda was meant to be with some version of me. But I know it never felt like that for me. I wasn’t meant to be with her. Ever.” His voice shook a little on the last sentence and she knew he was being serious.

“I believe you,” she replied, nodding slightly. The air around them was tense, and neither of them was sure what to say so they sat in silence for a while.

The silence was finally broken by her phone beeping in her bag. “It’s probably my mom, she’s picking me up,” she said as she dug around for her phone in her bag. She was right, her mom had texted her saying she’d be outside The Brew in 20 minutes. But she also had two other messages she hadn’t read.

**_Spencer:_ ** _Come over when you can. Emily found more info. Make sure you bring the thumb drive._

**_Travis_ ** _: Breakfast tomorrow before school? I miss u! <3_

She inhaled a little too sharply, again, and when she looked up Caleb was looking at her funnily.

“Just my mom,” she forced a smile at him and shoved the phone back in her bag. The thumb drive was safely in the side pocket of her bag.  

Caleb nodded, biting his lip for a moment. “So are you going to tell me what’s been happening around here?”

 “Oh, nothing much. It’s been pretty boring actually.”

His lips quirked again, “Why don’t I believe you?”

She shrugged, her own lips curled at the ends. “Maybe all the ghosts have gotten to your head.”

“Okay. So none of your friends came back from the dead?” He asked, leaning forward a little to stare at her.

She rolled her eyes; not at all surprised that he knew about Alison. It was all Rosewood had been talking about for weeks. She was actually kind of surprised it had taken him this long to bring it up.  “It’s complicated right now.”

“I’m pretty good with complicated,” he jokes, smiling at her. Then turns more somber. “What happened? Last I heard you thought A was in Ravenswood. Does Alison know who it is? Is- ”

“Our lives didn’t stop just because you left town, Caleb.” She snapped finally. She couldn’t take his questions right now. None of this was making sense, so she wasn’t about to try and explain it to someone else.

He stopped, and looked apologetic. “I know. I’m sorry. I just – I hate that you got hurt.”

“A lot of people got hurt. Besides, I’m fine now. Really.”

“Hanna-” He points to the cast on her arm, rested on table.

She took another gulp of her coffee “Look, I wasn’t lying about my mom, so I should go wait outside. But it was nice seeing you. I like talking to you.” She smiled at him, and meant it, before standing up.

He reached out and grabbed her wrist, the one without the cast. “Hanna. Call me if you need anything. Please.” He waited until she nodded to let her go, before smiling at her fondly.

When she walked out of the Brew, somehow the knot in her chest was even bigger than when she walked in.

 

* * *

 

 

Caleb watched her walk out, wondering whether this could’ve have gone any different than it did. He had been surprised, and glad, when Hanna called him asking if he wanted to talk. At least now he knew his suspicions were right: A was still in the picture, somehow. And with Alison back, he could only imagine how crazy the whole thing was for her. He wanted to ask about Alison as soon as she sat down, but he had a hunch, knowing her as well as he did, that she’d shut him out.

A little part of him was glad that he could still read her so well. The text message that was supposedly from her mom was definitely from someone else, judging by her face. Something she was unsure about.

So he’d tried to drag out the conversation as long as he could. And even though they’d barely talked for 20 minutes, he had a feeling that things were okay. Or going to be, at least.

 He drained the rest of his coffee and packed up his laptop. He wasn’t lying; he had been studying, but now seemed as good a time as any to go get some dinner.

He leaves The Brew and sees Hanna standing at the corner, looking at her phone. For a moment he wanted to go talk to her, but he hesitated, unsure of what he would say.

He’d just started walking in the other direction when he heard a yell, loud and high-pitched. He knew it was Hanna before he even had a chance to think about it.  He spun around on his heels to see a black figure trying to wrestle Hanna’s bag away from her. She was holding on tightly, but struggling.  He didn’t even pause for a second before he’s sprinting towards them. He grabbed at the guy’s black hoodie, pulling him around so he could throw a punch to his face. Or rather his black mask. The guy moved just in front so Caleb didn’t hit him as hard as he wanted to but he still recoiled for a split second. He managed to push at Caleb, though, so hard that he landed on the ground, dropping his backpack in the fall. The guy sprinted off past the both of them and turned the next corner. Caleb knew he couldn’t catch up to him now, just watched him from the ground.

“Caleb, are you okay?” Hanna asked, leaning over him. Her voice is upset, understandably. .

He just shook his head and pushed himself up. His chest twinges with pain, where the guy pushed him pretty hard. “I’m fine. Are you okay? Why do I have a feeling that wasn’t a coincidence?” He asked, bending down to pick up his bag.

Hanna just frowned, looking at where the guy had run off to, “They’re getting sloppy. I don’t even have the whole thing, Spencer does.”

“Have what?”

Her eyes widened as she realised what she’d said. “Oh – just.... something we had to pick up for a friend.” If he wasn’t seriously worried about her, watching her try desperately to backtrack would have been adorable.

“Hanna?”

“Caleb, it’s too -”

“Complicated, I know,” he nodded solemnly. He did know, kind of. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, she was just doing the same thing he had done about Ravenswood.

“And I don’t want you getting involved again, it’s too dangerous.” He looked down and found her looking at him seriously.

He matched her gaze, “I’m already involved, Hanna.” He meant it. He needed to do whatever he could to make sure she was safe. He would be in this as long as she was. “But it would help if you told me what was going on.”

She didn’t reply; just bit her lip as she tried to avoid his gaze. They stood side by side, saying nothing for a minute or so. He half expected her to tell him to go, but he wasn’t about to go anywhere until her mom came.

Finally he heard her sigh before actually speaking, “I was so sure that everything was perfect. But I didn’t get how... toxic it was until after. Like really bad. And now things are supposed to go back to how they were before and it’s like everything good that happened since then is just falling apart.” Her voice was soft, and she was staring at the ground as she spoke.

He, on the other hand, was staring at her. Every good feeling he had about talking her just vanished into thin air and his heart plummeted into his stomach. He wanted to say something, but couldn’t think of any response that could match her.  

And then, because life had the worst timing, Ashley’s car pulled up next to them with the window rolled down, “Sorry I’m late sweetie, but we gotta go. Hi Caleb!” She called from the car. If she was surprised to see him, she didn’t show it.

Hanna mumbled a fast goodbye without looking at him, and he still couldn’t put a sentence together as he watched her get into the car and drive off.

He didn’t feel so confident anymore.

 

* * *

 

 

She watched him in the side mirror, standing on the curb as they drove off and thankfully her mom waited until they rounded the corner to say anything.

“So, you’re hanging out with Caleb?” She asked.

Hanna rolled her eyes, “We’re not hanging out, we had coffee.” And a lot of awkward silences, she thought to herself.

“Did you tell him what happened, in the woods?” her mom asked, trying not to sound too curious.

“Mom, I told you what happened.”

Her mom looked over at her with a pointed gaze, “I mean, did you tell him the truth?”

Hanna groaned; her mom hadn’t stopped asking her about the woods. And okay, yes, she didn’t exactly tell the truth. But the truth was way too complicated. And they were still covering for Alison. Admitting what really happened would open up a whole bottle of new questions that none of them wanted to deal with.

Her mom waited a beat and then spoke again, “Travis called the house earlier. Said he hadn’t heard from you, and that he was worried.”

The silence in the car echoed the words her mom hadn’t spoken. _You’re dating Travis, remember. He’s a good guy._ Hanna focused on staring out the window, trying to figure out why everything felt so wrong.  And why her heart had sunk so hard when Caleb hadn’t responded to her confession. She didn’t expect him to leave her hanging again.

 


	3. you still bring the stars out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been absolutely awfully at posting these chapters. Here we go!

"Thanks, man," Caleb smiled as Toby handed him a coffee. He was a bit surprised when Toby called him. They had been friends before, but it was always kind of based on the sidekick-boyfriend thing they had in common. Anyway, Caleb hadn't spoken to him since he'd left for Ravenswood and honestly, he wouldn't have been surprised if Spencer had laid down some don't-talk-to-Caleb law.

"No problem, it's good to have you back," Toby replied, sipping on his own cup.

"Is it?" Caleb asked, looking doubtful, "Not sure everyone here is my biggest fan right now."

"Yeah, okay, Spencer was pretty pissed off", Toby chuckled, "But I think they're all glad you're back. Can't hurt to have another person on the team."

"And what game are we playing, exactly?" Caleb asked as they started walking down the street.

Toby paused, taking a long sip of his coffee and frowned, "I think the only person who really knows is Alison."

"Ahh," Caleb nodded, somehow not surprised by this. Alison still seemed to be at the centre of most things. "You know, I feel like I should maybe meet her. Especially now that she's, you know, not dead."

Toby grinned again, but it was obvious this was serious stuff. "Careful what you wish for."

Caleb looked around as they turned a corner. It was kind of nice to just walk around Rosewood. This town had been his home for a pretty long time, compared to all his other stints. And despite everything, he still felt more at home here than anywhere else.

"Seriously though, have you seen her since she's come back? I just... From all the stuff I've heard, I can't believe Hanna was friends with her."

Toby paused, obviously gathering his thoughts. "Sometimes I think she's way too twisted to be a real person. Spencer says she's changed, but I get the feeling things aren't as different as Ali would like us to think." He sounded concerned, and disappointed, and Caleb got it. Everything should've been fixed with Alison coming back, but that would have been too easy.

"Caleb?" A voice called out suddenly and Caleb looked up. Travis was leaning against his truck, parked in front of the ice cream store. He was smiling, but managed to look confused at the same time.

"Hey man, what's up?" Caleb asked, extending his hand out when they got close enough. . Travis took it, but glanced at the store as he did so. Caleb hadn't seen him, or really thought about him since Travis had helped Ashley out last year. The guy always seemed nice enough though, if you looked past the dusty pick-up truck.

"Okay, here's your gross banana milkshake -" an all too familiar voice spoke suddenly and Caleb turned around to see Hanna walking out of the store with two milkshakes in a takeaway tray. Her eyes widened for a split second, before she forced a smile and walked over to them, holding it out to Travis, who took one of the large cups.

Caleb swallowed, piecing together what was happening. But it's not like he could say anything; he hadn't actually replied to her last few messages. Or her calls. Or her email. He just wasn't sure whether it was good for them to be hanging out. He didn't want to make things overly complicated for her, and judging by the scene in front of him, they easily could be.

"Thanks b-" Travis stopped short, and glanced at Caleb before forcing a smile. "Look who's back in town! Caleb, when did you get back?"

Caleb looked from Travis to Hanna, who was biting her lip and trying not to make eye contact with him. She obviously hadn't told Travis that she'd seen him. And she definitely hadn't told him that she'd been hanging out with Travis. It's not like she had to tell him anything, he reminded himself and he tried to settle the simmering in his head. "Uh, last week, actually.

"Oh, cool," Travis said, not even bothered trying to feign excitement, "It'll be good to see you around."

"Uh huh," Hanna practically grunted, "We should go. Bye!" She ushered Travis towards his truck and they quickly drove off.

"Dude," Toby suddenly spoke up, and honestly Caleb had forgotten he was even there. "She didn't tell you?"

Caleb shook his head, "She didn't. It's not like she has to tell me anything anyway," he shrugged, trying to be casual about it.

Toby raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but didn't say anything except mention he'd just upgraded his Xbox at his place. And in that moment, Toby was the best friend he'd ever had.

 

* * *

 

They drove for about five minutes, just listening to the radio, before Travis finally glanced at her and finally asked the question that had been lingering in the truck since they had gotten in.

"So, you didn't know Caleb was back?"

She took a long gulp of her milkshake, taking her time before answering, "Why would I know that?"

Travis shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I'm just kind of surprised that he didn't come to see you."

"Travis, he broke up with _me_." Hanna looks at him, narrowing her eyes. She shouldn't even be this annoyed with him, but seeing Caleb had thrown her. She didn't know what she'd done to Caleb, but he was doing a great job of pretending she didn't exist and it was eating away at her. And she couldn't talk to Travis, because it hadn't even crossed her mind to tell him about seeing Caleb in the first place.

"Are you okay with him being back in town?" Glancing over, she saw his jaw was clenched, like he already expected the wrong answer.

She took a mouthful of her own milkshake, mulling over the question in her head. A week ago the answer might have been simpler, but now Caleb's ignoring her and the whole thing is giving her a headache. "Whatever, if he doesn't want to talk to me, he doesn't have to."

Travis didn't say anything, and it took Hanna a minute to realise she hadn't even answered his question.

 

* * *

 

"Sorry I'm late!" Emily said as she walked into Aria's living room, Spencer holding the door open for her. "My dad skyped my mom so I wanted to say hi."

"Maybe if you actually answered your phone, we wouldn't have to worry." Hanna muttered, glancing at her phone once again. She had hoped that Caleb would have called her after seeing her earlier, but he stayed silent as ever. And her mood was just getting worse.

"I was driving when you called," Emily frowned, glancing at the other girls.

"And we weren't even worried, you're only like 10 minutes late," Aria nodded, before giving Hanna a look that clearly said chill-out. Or shut-up.

"Hanna, is everything okay? You've been in a weird mood all afternoon," Ali said, moving so she was sat next to Hanna on the couch. Her voice was soft, but Hanna knew that tone. She'd heard that tone too many times, in different forms of _advice_.

"My mood is normal," she snapped, crossing her arms. She looked up to see Spencer looking at her, more with concern than annoyance. Toby must have told her what happened in front of the ice cream place. She hadn't really had a chance to talk to them about Caleb being back in town, they'd all been so busy trying to help Ali. "Can we just get on with this? Do we even have any new information?"

The other girls were quiet for a minute; the air heavy with frustration. Finally, Spencer sighed and took her laptop out of her bag. "Look, I was looking going through some news archives online..."

 

* * *

 

Caleb was halfway through the first film of a Bruce Lee marathon on TV when someone knocked on the door. He put his beer on the floor, since his new tiny furnished place didn't come with a coffee table and went to answer it.

"Hanna?" his heart sort of plummeted when he saw hers, because she had that look on her face that looked like anger but actually meant she was upset. She arms were crossed across her chest and she stared at him until he stepped aside and motioned for her to come inside.

"You've been avoiding me." She said as soon as he had closed the door.

He took a breath; he should have known she wouldn't have let him just drop off the face of the earth. "I'm not avoiding you, I've been busy. I told you I have a lot of stuff to do for school."

She narrowed her eyes, glaring at him. "Yeah, well, I think Spencer wants her boyfriend back. And I want to know why you've been avoiding me."

He sighed; she wasn't going to make this easy. Even though all he wanted was to make this easier for her.

She stared at him for a while longer, "You can't just come back to town, and then drop me when you get tired of me."

What? She didn't honestly believe that's why he'd kept his distance, did she? He shook his head quickly, "You said my coming back ruined everything. I thought you wanted me to leave."

Her gaze softened, confused. "What? I _never_ said that."

He glanced around the room, taking a deep breath before looking back at her. "Hanna. I get it, okay. I deserve it. Just... Just tell me to go and I'll go."

Now Hanna shook her head, frown on her face. "That's not – that's the last thing I want!"

Now he was confused. Last week she was telling him he'd screwed everything up and now she was taking it all back. "Hanna, you said I was... toxic. I don't want to be that for you-"

"Caleb!" Her eyes widened suddenly, as she interrupted, "I wasn't talking about you."

"What?"

She sighed, and he knew from the look on her face she didn't like what she was about to say. "I was talking about Ali."

"Alison?"

"Why do you think I'm wearing combat boots and have black streaks in my hair? I've put on 5 pounds since she started coming to school again. I know I should be happy that she's home but things are just getting worse. Everything is still so complicated and none of us are safe and every time she looks at me like she knows something I don't I just feel like losing it-"

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her before she could finish another sentence, and by the time her head was one his shoulder he could tell she was crying quietly. It hurt; it always hurt when she was hurting but he just closed his eyes and held her tighter. He didn't know what he could do for her, and he hated being so helpless when all he wanted to do was help her. She rested her broken arms against his back as she hugged him back and his hurt grew into anger. He should have been here for her. Months ago, and last week. He should have been here.

She pulled away slightly, squeezing her wets eyes, "I'm such a bad person. My best friend is home. And alive. And I'm mad about it!" Her voice cracked slightly, and he watched her squeeze away more tears.

"Hanna," he said gently, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I know you. And I know your friends, your real friends. I don't know if she's one of them."

They stood quietly for a moment, as Hanna moved her hand from Caleb shoulder to wipe her eyes. "I want to forget about being angry. Or scared. I just want to relax!"

Caleb nodded, smiling slightly. This was something he could do. "So let's relax, right now." Hanna looked up at him, a doubtful expression on her face. He just smiled a little wider, "I'm serious. Whatever you want: Real housewives marathon? Cool ranch Doritos? Those homemade facemasks you always wanted me to try-"

And then she kissed him.

And he kissed back. His hands were on her waist almost immediately and she'd wrapped her arms around his neck so that she was pressed against him. And it felt like it was supposed to. Her fingers played with the hair at the back of his neck, although there was barely enough to pull on now, like she used to. It was as if he's learning how perfectly her body fit with his all over again. Not that he'd ever forgotten. He couldn't remember why Hanna was here, he couldn't even remember why he got in that jeep to go back to Ravenswood. All he could think about was not wanting to stop kissing her. Not wanting to ever let her go again.

He moved a hand up to her cheek and stilled her, pulling away slightly. They were both breathing heavily, and Hanna looked up at him confused and concerned. And all he wanted to do was to kiss that look off her face. But he knew he couldn't.

"Hanna..." he said under his breath. He didn't know how to say what he wanted to say, how to ask what he wanted to ask.

She gazed up at him, and moved one hand from his neck to meet his hand at her cheek. She pulled it gently, and grasped it in her own, offering him a slight smile.

 

* * *

 

The credits rolled on the TV and she glanced to Caleb, not sure what would happen now. She knew why he had stopped the kiss: neither of them knew what was happening around them or between them. But she also knew she just needed to be near him right now, despite the simmer she feels in her heart when she's with him, he also made her feel calm and safe. More so than anyone else in this town.

He'd been surprised when she offered to stay and watch kung fu movies with him. She'd never told him this, obviously, but she never minded being forced to watch them when they were together. And besides, she didn't really care what they watched; she just wanted to be next to him for a while.

Finally he glanced back at her, his lips quirking up. They looked at each other for a moment and Hanna felt an overwhelming desire to kiss him again. Or even just to be in his arms.

"Hey, thanks for the pizza," Caleb said suddenly, nodding toward the empty pizza box on the floor. They'd ordered it before the second movie, and she'd insisted on paying, pulling out her wallet before he could even get off the couch. But his eyes locked onto hers and she knew he wasn't really thinking about the pizza.

She smiled, "Thanks for tonight. I really needed this."

"Which part?" He grinned and she started to blush. She couldn't deny, both parts were pretty good. So she looked back to the rolling credits, studied them for a bit until it passed. When she turned back to him he looked concerned.

"I meant what I said, Hanna. If you need anything, I'm here," he said seriously, leaning over to take her hand in his.

She had no idea where to go from here. She had no idea what to do about Ali, about Travis, about A. But when she squeezed Caleb's hand she felt less lost than she had in weeks.


	4. the truth spills out

* * *

 

She couldn't think of one good reason to stop doing this. And as his mouth moved down to the side of her neck, sucking firmly, she couldn't really think at all.

She couldn't even remember how they started this. One minute they were watching a movie and the next she was straddling his lap as they made out. Should they even be doing this?

"Stop thinking," he murmured against her neck before he lifted his head to meet her gaze. She stared down at him, breathing heavily and he just smirked when he saw her. She leaned forward to join their lips again but he reached up and cupped her cheek, stopping her. She watched his smirk softened as he stared at her and she wished she knew what he was thinking. He had that expression that always made her feel safe, like nothing bad could touch her as long as he was here.

"Who's thinking now?" She asked finally, unable to take his eyes gazing at her for another second. She dropped her lips to his and he immediately lifted his chin to deepen the kiss. She didn't even notice he'd moved his hand until she felt his fingers under her tank top, tickling her skin. Her whole body felt warm under his touch, and she just kissed him harder, wanting to show him how much she wanted him. Her hands had been hooked behind his neck, but she moved to run her fingers through his hair, pulling a little. She knew he always liked that. And when he moaned into her mouth she almost smirked. His hands wound further around her until he embraced her completely, before he suddenly shifted them both, moving her off his lap.

Her back hit the seat of the couch harder than she expected and she opened her eyes with a start – to her bedroom ceiling?

She blinked a couple of times, gauging her surroundings. She was definitely in her bedroom. And she was definitely alone. She was glad about that as she slowly realised what just happened. Her face warmed and she buried her head into her pillow, trying to get her thoughts in order. They'd kissed, and then they'd stopped kissing. And then they had watched movies and Hanna felt more at peace than she had in months, just watching whatever that guy's name was – Ben Lee? _No_ – kick the hell out of the bad guys. Okay so maybe it had more to with Caleb sitting next to her, making her laugh and offering her chips and making her feel like herself.

And then she'd gone home, to bed. And dreamt about making out with him. _Great_.

* * *

"I just don't know how long we can keep this up. I don't think Toby is buying our story anymore, he keeps asking questions I can't answer," Spencer frowned as they stood in line for coffee at The Brew. The other girls were meeting them there before school. But since Hanna had woken up early from that dream, there was no way she could go back to sleep. So she called Spencer to see if she was ready early. Which, of course she was.

"Have you thought about telling him the truth?" Hanna asked, biting her lip. After confessing her feelings about Alison to Caleb last night, she had nearly told him the whole truth.

Spencer stared at her, "And risk the wrath of Alison? No way!" she made a face, "I mean, I want to. I trust him. I think I'm also kind of scared of what he'd think of me for going along with this whole charade."

They moved up to the counter and Hanna waited for Spencer to order before she replied. "He would never think anything bad of you, Spencer."

"Yeah, but I might – aren't you getting coffee?" Spencer stared at her.

Hanna shook her head, "Oh, I had some at home this morning." She glanced down at her boots before she'd have to face Spencer's disbelief.

"You wake up early _and_ you choose filter coffee over your usual latte. Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Spencer joked, taking her own coffee from the barista. They started to move toward the couches when a hand landed on Hanna's shoulder.

"Hanna," a voice said. She knew immediately who it was; she didn't even have to see Spencer's wide-eyed look.

She turned around, "What's up, Caleb?"

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh, sure," Hanna said, glancing at Spencer. Spencer just gestured that she'd be waiting on the couch. Hanna scanned the cafe before turning back to Caleb, and then took him by the wrist and led him to the stairs at the back.

"You left this at mine," Caleb said, pulling her wallet out of his back pack before she had a chance to say anything.

"Oh," Hanna forced a smiled, "Thanks, I was wondering where I'd put that." When she couldn't find it this morning, she'd assumed she'd left it at Aria's, not even remembering that she'd paid for their pizza last night. She tried to force down any feelings of disappointment; it's not like Caleb had any other reason to find her this morning.

"How did you know I'd be here?" She asked.

"I didn't," Caleb said, pausing to look away from her. "I was going to give it to you at school."

"You're coming back?!" This time her smile wasn't forced.

"Yeah, are you okay with that?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" He was being weird and distant, and she didn't like it. He'd barely looked her in the eye.

Caleb shrugged, "I don't want to mess things up for you, Hanna. If you're in a good place -"

"Caleb, were you even listening last night?! Things are already messed up." She didn't mean to raise her voice but she couldn't help it. She thought he had understood how she felt, but now she wasn't so sure.

He finally looked at her, his eyes were soft but he was staring at her with a conflicted expression on his face. He reached up to move a strand of hair out of her face before he spoke. "What can I do?"

His offer was so sincere; Hanna had to close her eyes for a second to let the feeling of support wash over her. In that time Caleb had dropped his hand so that he was touching her plastered wrist gently.

"Just... be here. I need to know you're on my side," she spoke softly, unsure what she was even asking of him. She barely knew who was on whose side anymore.

"Hey," Caleb replied, just as quietly. He lifted her hand and held her cast between both of his hands. "I'm always on your side, no matter what happens."

Hanna bit her lip, and nodded slowly. She fought an almost overwhelming urge to kiss him, right there, in The Brew, but knew that she couldn't. At least, not until she figured out what she was doing. Instead she just looked at him gratefully until she was sure he got the message.

He let go of her hand, "I should get going. Hackett wants to meet with me before class," he grimaced said.

Hanna nodded, taking a step away from him. "I'll see you in school."

They both walked to the front of the cafe together, and Caleb nodded at her as she turned towards the couches where Spencer was waiting for her. Spencer, to her credit, waited until Caleb left to say anything.

"So you had coffee at home, huh?" She asked, nodding towards the wallet in Hanna's hand.

Hanna sighed, and stuffed the wallet into her bag, "I left my wallet at Caleb's last night."

"Last night? I thought you said you were going home to have dinner with your mom?"

Hanna shrugged; she wasn't even sure how to begin explaining what was going on with Caleb. "I thought he was ignoring me so I went to talk to him."

"Is that why you've been so angry the last few days?" Spencer asked.

Hanna sighed again. Knowing Spencer, she was probably about to give her some lecture about being careful. "Look, I know what you think -"

"Hanna," Spencer interrupted, "I'm glad he's here for you. Caleb's a good guy."

Hanna's eyes widened, she was definitely not expecting that. "Yeah, he is," she nodded, offering her a small smile.

Spencer took a sip of her coffee, swallowing slowly, "But. What about Travis?"

Hanna's smile sunk. She'd been trying to avoid thinking about Travis. She already felt guilty. Mostly about _not_ feeling guilty about kissing Caleb. Travis was a great guy but she still felt like a stranger when she was with him.

"Hanna, I think you know what you want to do," Spencer continued. "Maybe sooner is better than later?"

* * *

Caleb sighed as he dropped a book into his new locker. Coming back to Rosewood hadn't been too painful apart from that those dudes who asked if it was true he'd been in juvie the last few months. Although maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a few rumours flying around if it meant that people would leave him alone. He picked up the books for his next two classes when he heard a voice behind him.

"Caleb, a little bird told me you were back."

He turned around, not pleased to see her. "Mona."

She stood in front of him with a knowing smile on her face and he was reminded instantly why he didn't trust her. "It's nice to see you too. I'm sure Hanna's missed you while you were gone. Although, I'm afraid she's had to keep herself busy while you've been gone." She offered him a grossly insincere frown.

"What do you want?" Caleb asked, slamming his locker shut so loudly that she flinched. He took a little pride in this, knowing that it wasn't easy to fluster her.

Mona nodded, "I think we have something in common. Something we both want."

Caleb let out a short laugh, "I doubt that." He moved to walk past her, but she stepped forward to stop him.

"You want Alison gone just as much as we do. All I'm saying is we could help each other out," Mona looked up at him, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Yeah, there's no way in Hell that I'm helping you with anything," he replied, staring at her. Although she wasn't at Radley anymore, he was never convinced that she wasn't still crazy. And this conversation wasn't helping.

Mona's smirk faltered for a second before she looked back up at him. "Alison coming back hasn't been easy on Hanna, I'm sure. And she had that nasty fall-"

Now Caleb took a step towards her, lowering his voice until only Mona could hear him. "I don't give a crap what happens to Alison, but if anyone messes with Hanna you _will_ regret it."

"Careful, Caleb, this might get you on a dangerous list," Mona warned.

Caleb almost wanted to laugh. She had no idea what he'd been through this year. She thought she could threaten him. After Ravenswood, Caleb had totally changed his idea of dangerous.

"I've been on worse lists, trust me," he glared at her before pushing past her to head to his next class, not even waiting to see if she had anything more to say.

* * *

Travis was waiting for her by her locker after school, and almost all her instincts told her to go the other way. But she had already been avoiding him all day, and besides, she knew what she needed to do.

She just didn't see why she had to be the one to do it.

He smiled at her as she got closer, and didn't seem to notice how forced her own smile was. "Hey, do you want to do something tonight?"

"Uh, I don't know if I can," she said as she opened her locker, "But we need to talk. Are you free now?"

Travis nodded, "Yeah, sure -"

Hanna looked up to see why he'd stopped talking and saw Alison rushing towards them.

"Hanna, I need to talk to you. Now," she said, when she finally reached them.

"Hi Alison," Travis said, offering her a small wave. Alison glanced over at him without saying anything, then looked back at Hanna, widening her eyes.

"Ali, can it wait?" Hanna asked. When Alison just crossed her arms, she sighed. She grabbed the book she needed out of her locker and closed it.

She turned to Travis, "I'll be right back, can you wait here?"

He nodded, glancing at Alison suspiciously before pulling out his phone. Alison just took Hanna by her good hand and pulled her around the corner.

"What?! I was in the middle of -" Hanna started when they finally stopped walking.

"I saw Caleb around school today. Your Caleb!" Alison interrupted her, looking unimpressed.

Hanna looked at her, trying to figure out why she was upset about that. "Yeah, he's back at school. So what?"

"Well, have you talked to him?" Alison asked, looking down at her. Usually Alison wasn't that much taller than her, but lately Hanna's boots haven't been heeled so Alison had at least four inches on her.

"About what?" Hanna still wasn't sure what Alison was getting at. There was no way she knew what Hanna had talked to Caleb about.

Alison looked at her like she was missing something obvious. "Hanna. You have to see what he knows about me."

Oh. Of course Alison was just worried about her stupid story. Hanna sighed, "Don't worry. He thinks you were kidnapped like everyone else."

"Well, make sure you keep it like that," Alison said.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Hanna asked, her anger rising. The last thing she needed was Alison giving her more instructions.

"We don't know if we can trust him," Alison started, softening her gaze. She was good at looking vulnerable, but Hanna knew she loved the play that game. "He's been gone for months, Hanna, who knows whose team he's on now. Maybe he's working with Mona. Maybe he's working with A. I mean he just shows up back in Rosewood out of no-"

"Ok, you don't know the first thing about Caleb," Hanna interrupted. She couldn't take any more of this, she wasn't going to let Ali turn Caleb into a bad guy. "You've never even met him!"

Alison took the second to glance down at her heels before she looked back at Hanna. Her expression looked concerned, but Hanna wasn't buying it anymore."Look, he's already getting between us, Hanna."

Hanna shook her head, telling herself to keep calm. "I have to go, I have stuff to do."

"Hanna -" Alison called after her, but Hanna had already rounded the corner to get back to Travis.

He was leaning against her locker, typing something on his phone so he doesn't noticed her until she's standing right in front of him.

"Everything okay?" He asked, shoving his phone back in his pocket.

"Yeah, don't worry about her," Hanna shook her head. She turned to glanced around the hallway and saw that the closest classroom was empty.

"Look, can we go talk in there?" She asked him, pointing towards the door.

Travis nodded, looking a little confused. He followed her into the room and dropping his bag onto the nearest desk.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again, watching her closely.

She started to nod, but stops herself. "No, actually. Look, Travis I can't do this anymore." She took her time before she looked up to meet his gaze.

"What?"

She bit her lip, trying to find the right words. "I don't think we should keep doing this. Look Travis, you're a great -"

"Is this because Caleb is back?" His asked, his voice got angry pretty quickly and he didn't look happy. Not that she was expecting him to.

She sighed, "Does it matter?"

"I'd like to know."

She didn't want to bring Caleb into this. Travis wasn't right for her, it just might have taken her longer to realise that if Caleb hadn't come back. "It's... it's complicated."

Travis shook his head, "It doesn't seem too complicated. A few months ago the guy left you _heartbroken_ and now you're just ready to run back to him."

"Travis, it's _really_ not like that," she said, "Look I can't explain it. But I _am_ sorry. I need to do this." She looked at him, almost hoping he didn't hate her. Travis was a nice guy, and she wished she didn't have to hurt him. But she couldn't stay with him without hurting herself.

When he finally looked back at her, his gaze had softened. "Go," he said, shrugging his shoulder gently.

She paused for a moment, trying to figure out if there was anything else to say. But there wasn't. Not to Travis anyway. She walked past him silently and left the classroom; she had one more stop to make.

* * *

Hackett had told him to stop by the guidance counsellor after school. Apparently changing schools multiple times means that teachers get concerned. He'd made up some story about his foster family moving to Ravenswood and back, they didn't need to know that Caleb hadn't seen his 'foster mom' in over a year. He just couldn't wait to turn 18 so that he could leave the stupid system behind him.

By the time Caleb got to his jeep, most of the students had cleared. Hanna was there though, leaning against the driver's door.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked immediately, she was looking down at her phone but he could always tell when something was up.

She looked up at him, "I broke up with Travis."

He smiled straight away, even as he tried to seem casual about it. He glanced away for a second, trying to come up with the right words, trying not to seem too excited that she'd just broken up with someone. But she seemed pretty excited herself. She must have stepped closer when he wasn't looking, because when he finally turned back to her she was right in front of him, and leaned up to press her lips to his.

He kissed her back straight away, eager to enjoy it now that he knew he could. He brought his hands up to her neck, touching her gently. She rested her hands on his waist, letting her fingers dig in as she pushed herself up to get closer to him.

When they both pulled away, only to get some air, he didn't move his hands from her cheek. He couldn't imagine he'd ever stop touching her now that he was allowed to again.

Hanna met his gaze, her eyes wide and he had a feeling she wanted to tell him something. He didn't want to push her though, knowing he'd pushed her away in the past. So he just waited, he was willing to wait until she was ready to talk. To trust him.

"Caleb," she started softly. She took a breath before continuing, "Alison was never kidnapped."


	5. it's us against consensus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Hope you enjoy the ending!

* * *

 They were both surprised when Ashley opened the door to him. He hadn’t seen her but in passing since he left Hanna’s hospital room weeks ago. 

He smiled as she failed to hide her hesitation, but recovered quickly. "Caleb, come in," she said, moving aside to let him in.

They fell into an awkward silence as she closed the door behind him. He glanced around, partly to avoid making eye contact with her. And partly because he didn't realise how it would feel to back in this house. Where so much had happened for him.

"Hanna's just getting changed. Do you want something to drink?" Ashley asked, moving past him to go back to the kitchen.

"I'm good. Thanks though." He replied as he followed her.

"I'm about to head out. You can go upstairs and see if she's ready, if you want," Ashley offered. But something in her tone told him he was better off staying downstairs. He was pretty sure that Ashley knew how much time he's spent upstairs, but he didn't want to take his chances. He wanted to get back into Ashley's good books, as much as he did Hanna's.

"I can just wait down here," He smiled.

"Okay," Ashley replied, seeming pleased. He relaxed a little as he watched her grab her purse and turn towards the door. But she stopped suddenly and turned around. Her expression was worried, her smile gone.

"Caleb, I asked you to come back because I believe you love my daughter. And I think she needs you right now, even if she's not saying it. Don't make me regret sending you that message."

He stood up a little straighter, and for the first time that evening looked Ashley in the eye. He needed her to believe him when he told her the truth. "I won't. I'm not gonna hurt her again."

She watched him for a moment, but he held his gaze. He felt confident all of a sudden, As though saying it aloud made him believe it himself. He wasn't going to let Hanna get hurt again. Not by anyone and definitely not by him.

Eventually, she smiled at him and nodded. Raising her voice, she called out, "Hanna, I'm going now. Caleb's waiting down here."

"I'll be down in a minute! Bye mom!" Hanna's voice shouted back from upstairs. Caleb smiled when he heard her voice and caught Ashley smiling at him once again before turning to leave.

He stood in the kitchen for less than a minute before he heard Hanna's voice again, this time softer and much closer. "Hey."

He turned around to see her stood behind him. He couldn't even hold back a grin, when he saw her. "Hey," he replied, and leaned down to press his lips against hers. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her waist to him.

"You look nice," he said when he pulled away.

Hanna raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you haven't even looked any lower than my face. Do you know how hard it was do up the zipper on this dress with this stupid thing on my arm," she said, waving her her cast up and down.

"Could've asked me to help," he replied. She smiled, biting her lip as she looked like she was considering it.

"So, I thought we could get dinner before we head to Spencer's. How do you feel about pizza?" He continued. Hanna's smiled dropped suddenly, and his followed, "You either suddenly hate pizza or something's wrong. What's up?"

"Caleb," she sighed, pulling herself out of his arms, "You don't have to -"

"Hanna, we've talked about this," he interrupted her. He understood what she was trying to say, and he wasn't willing to listen. Not about this.

"I feel bad for dumping all this stuff on you. It makes you an accessory to everything we've done. And not the good kind!"

He smiled for a moment, trying to focus on what she was saying and not how cute she looked when she was trying to be protective. "And I dumped all my Ravenswood stuff on you. So we're even."

He stepped towards her and pressed a hand to her cheek, tilting her head so he could look at her. "We said we were doing this together. And I'm not going to let anything get between us this time."

Hanna bit her lip as she heard him, then smiled softly. She reached up and placed her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him down towards her.

* * *

"Oh my god, we're so late," Hanna laughed as she knocked on Spencer's door.

"Relax. You texted them we were on our way, right?" Caleb grinned. He ran a hand down her back, knowing it made her feel better. Just having him here made her feel better.

Spencer opened the door in a hurry, "Good, you're here – _with Caleb_. _Hi_." Hanna looked down at the floor, feeling both Spencer and Caleb's glares on her right now.

"You said you told them I was coming," Caleb muttered.

"Hanna, you were supposed to come alone!" Emily appeared behind Spencer.

"Well, I didn't," Hanna sighed, slipping past Spencer to go inside. "Caleb knows, and he's going to help us."

Aria's eyes widened, as she stood up from the couch in the middle of the room. "Caleb knows _what_ exactly?" She asked.

Hanna opened her mouth, but behind her Caleb spoke before she had a chance to say anything.

"I know everything," he said, moving past her so he could look at all of them. "You guys trusted me once. Let me help. So we can finally end this."

Hanna watched as Spencer, Emily and Aria looked from Caleb to each other, considering it. She wasn't really sure how they could say no now, and that's what she'd hoped for when she decided to surprise them all.

Spencer spoke first, "Do you have your laptop with you?"

Caleb nodded, opening his backpack. Spencer glanced at them, and then back at him, decidedly, "Can you get into someone else's hard drive?"

Caleb grinned, "With my eyes closed." He moved past Hanna to put his laptop on the counter and opened it up.

* * *

Hanna stood by the sink, staring at her glass of water. Caleb was on the couch, trying to unlock some notes they found on Holbrook's online hard drive, or something. They were trying to figure out what the police already knew about Alison. They had been reading some of the files Caleb's already opened, and they'd been doing this for more than two hours. She wasn't even sure if they were getting anywhere.

"Are you okay?" Emily whispered beside her. Hanna hadn't even realised she'd moved from the couch too.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she nodded. Emily didn't say anything, almost like she knew that Hanna needed just another moment before she finally opened up.

"I thought it was the right thing to do, to bring him along. But..." she sighed, trying not to let her bad thoughts get the better of her, "What if Caleb helping us just gets him hurt?"

Caleb glanced up towards them as though he heard them talking about him. But Hanna was pretty sure they were being quiet enough to get away with it. She offered Caleb a soft smile, which he returned quickly before turning back to his laptop.

"You and Caleb are together again? For good?" Emily asked, and if it was anyone else Hanna would probably be annoyed, but Emily's eyes gazed at her warmly. She just nodded. There wasn't much more to say. But then Emily continued, "So you do this together. After everything that's happened, I think I figured out that it's more important to fight together, even if you don't always win. I think I figured it out a bit late though."

Hanna let her eyes wander over Caleb as Emily spoke. She was right. All the things that had pulled them apart in the past had been things that they let get between them. They had always been so focused on hiding something or finding the truth that they forgot to be on the same team. Hanna wasn't about to let that happen again.

But she frowned when she heard Emily's final remark. "Have you talked to Paige since-"

Emily just shook her head. "I don't even know what I can say."

"You'll think of something. All that's gonna matter to her is that it's coming from you," Hanna said, offering her a smile.

"Guys!" Spencer spoke up suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her, "Holbrook put in requests for the bank statements of Alison, Jason and both her parents for the past two years."

"He's definitely suspicious of her story," Emily said.

"Yeah, and he thinks that her family were in on it," Aria added, waving a piece of paper in the air. None of this could be good.

* * *

Caleb yawned as he finally reached his jeep. They'd all stayed at Spencer's late last night, so getting through the school day had been hard. He was actually looking forward to going home for a nap before Hanna came over for dinner. He pulled his bag off his shoulder when he heard a voice behind him.

"Caleb, right?" He turned around and found Alison DiLaurentis standing behind him with a knowing smile on her lips. He didn't say anything, so she continued, "I thought we should finally meet. I'm A-"

"I think everyone knows who you are, Alison," he interrupted. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her games right now.

Alison pouted slightly, and if he didn't know any better he'd think she was genuinely upset. No wonder she can twist her way into people's heads. "Some people think they know me just because they've seen my face on the news."

"I think I have a pretty good idea. Hanna's told me -" He stopped himself before he could say anything that would get Hanna in trouble. They'd talked about what he was supposed to know.

Alison's gaze darkened instantly, "Hanna told you _what_ exactly?"

Caleb glanced around, taking a breath before turning to her. He knew he had to play his cards right. "All of it. About the guy that kidnapped you. How you got away. How they found you. It's a pretty crazy story, I'm sorry I wasn't here to help."

Alison studied him, so he made sure to keep calm. Slowly, her knowing smile returned to her lips. "I heard you ran off to Ravenswood. I hope you had a good trip."

Caleb forced a smile, although he knew it didn't look the least bit genuine. "Well. I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. So maybe we can catch up another time." He gestured towards his jeep before opening the door and climbing in. He didn't even bother looking to see if she was still there as he drove off.

* * *

He knew it was Hanna as soon as he heard the knock on his door. It sounded urgent, but he expected she was probably just hungry. Good thing he'd already ordered dinner.

"Hey-" he smiled as he opened the door, but Hanna's scowl stopped him in his tracks. "What's wrong?"

"Aria told me she saw you talking to Alison this afternoon. What happened to laying low!"

"Hanna, relax." He stepped aside to let her in and closed the door behind her. She just stared at him with her arms crossed. "Alison came up to me. She was trying to find out whether you spilled the beans."

"Did you tell her?!"

Caleb looked at her pointedly. He'd thought she'd have more faith in him. "Of course not. I played the kidnapper card and I'm pretty sure she bought it."

Hanna frowned, "That's probably what she wants you to think! She's probably thinking up some evil genius plan on how to run you out of town-"

"Hanna," he said, stepping towards her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere. I made that clear to Alison." He reached up to cup her cheek, and gazed straight at her, trying to make it clear that he meant it. Hanna gazed back at him for a moment before she smiled.

"What?" He asked, smiling back regardless.

"I like the idea of you not going anywhere," she said simply, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

He let his hands drop to her waist and pulled her closer to him, so that their bodies were pressed together. He dropped his head so that it was barely an inch away from hers. "Good," he said, his voice low, before he pressed his lips to hers. She kissed back eagerly, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck.

Another knock on his door pulled them apart. Hanna let a low moan, as Caleb wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He didn't really want to answer the door with lip gloss smudged around his mouth. He opened the door, pulling his wallet out with his other hand.

"Hey man," he greeted the delivery guy before handing him a twenty. "Keep the change."

The guy thanked him, and handed him the bags. By the time Caleb turned around, Hanna was already sat on the couch, feet tucked up.

"Finally, I'm starving!" She said, and made grabby hands at the food he was holding. He grinned and handed them to her, before sitting down next to her. She opened the bags and the boxes inside before he even had a chance to say something.

"You planning to share?" he asked playfully. She just glared at him, but with a smile on her lips and handed him one of the boxes.

* * *

They'd finished most of the food pretty quickly, and Caleb got up to put the rest in his fridge. Hanna smiled, feeling pretty satisfied for once. Until she noticed Caleb's laptop open on the table. She couldn't really tell what it was doing, but it was scanning something.

"What's this?" She asked as Caleb sat back down beside her. He put a hand around her shoulders, and she leaned into him without thinking about it.

"Spencer gave me homework, remember?" he replied.

Hanna sighed, "I just wish we could forget about everything that was going on and be, like, normal, teenagers. Instead of hacking the police and lying to the whole world." She was tired of being scared and nervous all the time. She actually looked forward to talking to people in school that didn't know what was happening, even if it was Bridget Wu asking about their English homework.

Caleb paused for a moment, and gazed at her thoughtfully. Maybe it wasn't normal, but she felt the most herself when he was looking at her like that. She definitely didn't have to explain herself. Or anything else.

"So let's be normal," Caleb shrugged, leaning over to close the screen of his laptop, "That can wait. And we can do whatever we want."

Hanna bit her lip, as a few idea sprung to mind. All of the things she'd been meaning to do but never had that time, or the opportunity. All the movies she hadn't watched, or places she hadn't gone. All the things she's should have enjoyed. "I can think of something we haven't done in a while," she said slowly, leaning over to press her lips to his gently.

Caleb looked at her, puzzled. "What?"

Hanna rolled her eyes, and shifted slightly on the couch. She dropped one hand to Caleb's thigh, squeezing firmly, and placed the other on the back of his neck as she kissed him again, more forcefully this time.

She raised an eyebrow as she pulled away, waiting to see whether he got the message yet.

"Oh," Caleb said, his voice low.

Hanna smirked. " _Ohhhh_ ," she copied him playfully. She let go of him so that she could pull her top over her head. His eyes darkened as gazed over her body. Leaning forward, he kissed her this time, more urgently than before. He wrapped an arm around her so that he could lean her back until they were both lying down. His body was pressed against hers in all the right places and their lips danced together furiously as they both wanted, needed too much at once.

And yeah, maybe nothing outside that door was normal for them. But Hanna felt surer than she had in months. They were supposed to get through this together. And they would.


End file.
